Island



(No Model.)

J. E. PERRY. STAMP FOR CANGELING, 650.

No. 383,487. Patented May 29, 1888 INV'ENTDR.

WITNESSES.

N PErERsi Whom-um M relative positions on the polygonal shaft. Fig.

JOHN E. PERRY, OF WVAKEFIELD, RHODE ISLAND.

STAMP roe GANCELING, as.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 383,487, dated May 29,1888.

Application filed December 16, 1886. Serial No. 221,717. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JOHN E. PERRY, of Wakefield, in the county ofWashington and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Stamps for Canceling, &c., of which thefollowing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is aspecification.

This invention relates to that class of stamping and canceling devicesby means of which the place and time of mailing letters may be stampedupon the envelopes and the characters which indicate the day and hour ofmailing may be changed from time to time. By my improvements a fixedtransverse shaft running across the head of the stamp has stationaryeccentric hubs extending to right and left of said shaft, and on thesehubs adjustable printingrings, which print upon the envelope at pointsnot beneath this shaft, but at either side thereof, as described. Aclampscrew holds the printing-rings firmly when adjusted and keeps themin proper relation to the surrounding local stamp.

My invention is hereinafter more fully described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, and its novel features are particularly set forthin the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of the device; Fig. 2, a bottomplan or face View thereof. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are sectional views,hereinafter explained. Fig. 6 shows in two positions one of theeccentric hubs. Fig. 7 represents two of the printing-wheels in their 8shows one of the adjustable printing-rims detached from its hub. Fig. 9illustrates the imprint made on the envelope, and Fig. 10 shows thedevice provided with a handle extending laterally therefrom.

A is the postmarking head of the device, externally of circular form andhaving a flat face with the name of the locality in raised lettersthereon. Adjacent to this, on a branch or arm, and in thesame plane, isthe stamp-canceler B, of any ordinary character, and both are mounted ona common knob or handle, 0. Through an opening in the postmarking-faeeof the instrument two or more series of printing-characters appear, asin Fig. 2, projecting from the periphery of certain printing-rollers,

D, and coming into the same plane with the permanent letters on theface, as in Figs. 3 and 4. These rollers are of peculiar construction inthemselves, and the means whereby the characters on their surfaces arecaused to be imprinted in two or more lines on the envelope are alsopeculiar to my invention.

The drawings represent the formation of each wheel in two parts-astationary circular hub, E, and a rim, F, adjustable by rotation on thehub. The hub is mounted on a polygonal shaft, G, fixed transversely inthe head A, and forms an enlarged bearing for the adjustable rim F, sothat any one of the series of characters on the periphery of such rimmay be brought into position to print from, and changed at will withoutmoving the hub or shaft. Fig. 8 represents one of the rims removed fromits hub.

In Fig. 5 the head A is in transverse section on line y y of Fig. 4, andin Fig. 3 it is in vertical section, together with a part of theprinting-wheels, about on line 50 m, Fig. 4.

The peculiarity of the wheels D is that the hubs E are some or all ofthem made eccentricthat is, the angular opening to receive the shaft Gis not in the center of the hub, but far enough horizontally to right orleft thereof so that when two hubs are placed on a shaft with theeccentric portions turned in opposite directions the rims mounted onthem will present their printing-characters to the surface of theenvelope a distance from each other equal to the entire throw of the twoeccentrics, as illustrated in Fig. 9. Fig. 6 shows one of theeccentric-hubs, and Figs. 4, 5, and 7 represent the relative positionsof the printing-rims when their hubs are reversed upon the shaft.

By alternating the positions of the eccentric hubs on the shaft G, asshown in Fig. 5, the changeable data will be printed in two differentlines or in the zigzag line shown in Fig. 9, the effect being to leaveopen spaces between the name of the mouth and the day of the month, &c.,thus making the matter printed much more legible. If preferred, one ormore of the hubs may be centrally perforated, which will bring thematter printed from its peripheral ring into a position between theother lines.

Certain peculiarities of the printing-rims F. should be mentioned. Thefigures indicating, the hours of the day and the days of the month areeach placed on a wheel having its rim in two distinct rings, asindicated in Figs. 3 and 5. Thus the periphery of one ring has thenumbers from 1 to 12 for the several hours, while the adjacent ring hasthe figures 00, 15, 30, and to denote fractional parts of any hour, sothat changes can be made every fifteen minutes to denote the time ofclosing any mail. So of the days of the month, instead of crowdingthirtyone days on a single rim, the wheel has two rings, one having thefigures 1 2 3, while the adjacent ring has consecutively the figuresfrom 0 to 9, inclusive. From these two rings, by a daily movement of oneor both, any of the thirty-one days can be indicated. The names of thetwelve months abbreviated appear on a wheel by themselves, the lettersA. M. and P. M. on another, and a series of years, as 86, 87, and so on,on another. Thus the several Wheels arranged as denoted in Figs. 2, 3,and 5 will produce, when inked and stamped upon an envelope, theimpression shown in Fig. 9.

By means of a clanip screw, K, the several wheels or their rims may bepressed firmly into lateral contact, so as to hold firmly when adjustedor be released for readjustment. In addition to postal use my improvedstamps are adapted for a variety of business purposes, as will beapparent.

I am aware of the patent to Chamberlain, No. 66,560, dated July 9, 1867,in which the central stamp wheel is shown as of much greater diameterthan the others each side of it,and has eccentric disk or body aroundwhich the printing-ring is rotated to change the date. Said eccentricdisk served only in that device to bring the printing face of thisenlarged wheel into the same horizontal plane as the faces of the otherwheels, but had no capacity to open spaces in the matter printed or tothrow one line to right and another to the left of a line immediatelybeneath the axis. Said patent therefore lacked the feature peculiar tomy invention of isolating the different data by alternating theeccentrics in the manner I have described and shown.

Having thus described my improvements in canceling stamps, 820., Iclaim 1. In a stamping device, the recessed head A, having thetransverseshaftG fixed thereon, in combination with the stationary hubsE, mounted eccentrically upon said shaft and projecting to right andleft thereof, and with the printing-rings F. adjustable by rotation onsaid hubs, substantially as set forth.

2. The described adjustable stamp, having on its face a permanent localstamp or die and provided with a polygonal shaft fixed horizontallyacross its recessed head, in combination with two or more eccentric hubsor disks fixed on said shaft, and having their centers alternately toright and left thereof in a horizontal plane, with rotatableprinting-rings mounted on said hubs,and with a clamp-screw, as K,adapted to secure said rings in position when adjusted for use,substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I havesigned my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 10th day of December, A.D. 1886.

JOHN E. PERRY.

Witnesses:

JOHN G. PERRY, HOWARD B. PERRY.

